Early Fire Warning System with Semiconductor Gas Sensors

Abstract

Gas sensors are part of a variety of applications we use on a daily basis. Whether it is in our car, in medical engineering, or when measuring air quality at the office - small and cheap gas sensors are found in almost all industrial sectors. Especially in the area of fire detection, gas sensors offer new opportunities. Above all, the opportunity to recognize gasses released by plastic smoldering offers a huge potential to improve the safety of electrical equipment and installations. This article presents the findings and experiences from experiments with low-cost semiconductor gas sensors and discusses their potential in an early fire warning system.